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en-USHow I Scored Tons of Free Stuff By Building a Small Social Media Audiencehttp://www.wisebread.com/heres-how-one-social-media-micro-star-gets-lots-of-free-stuff
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<p>We've all heard of social media stars, aka &quot;influencers,&quot; who can quit their day jobs and live off the free resort stays, paid Instagram posts, and endless swag provided by brands eager to advertise to a large digital audience. But what if you don't have a million followers on social media? Can you still reap material benefits?</p>
<p>I spent the last four months building up a modest Instagram following in my spare time. It started as a hobby, but to my surprise, brands started offering me free stuff to review much sooner than I anticipated. I fall into the realm of the &quot;micro-influencer,&quot; which is a social media account with a few thousand followers, rather than a few hundred thousand. I currently get so many offers for free products that I can't possibly say yes to them all. You can get free stuff, too, with a few social media tips.</p>
<h2>1. Find a niche</h2>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHnWxevh8p3/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Camilla (@gracefulfaceblog)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-07-08T21:05:23+00:00">Jul 8, 2016 at 2:05pm PDT</time></p>
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<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>The easiest way to get active engagement from the social media community and attention from brands is by &quot;niching down&quot; in social-media parlance. Finding a small, but dedicated community focused on a niche hobby or product can help you grow the fastest. In my case, I started by focusing on Asian beauty products, which is a very focused, but growing part of the beauty industry. My followers are highly engaged and tight-knit, making any influence in this community incredibly valuable, especially for up-and-coming brands.</p>
<p>If you'd like to get free swag from brands, it helps if the products you'd like to receive aren't overwhelmingly expensive. It's far more likely for a beauty, food, or clothing brand to send you some of their wares than expensive electronics brands, for instance. I see people with just 400 to 500 followers in my niche receiving free products.</p>
<h2>2. Provide value</h2>
<p>Providing reviews or tips to your followers can be one way to engage the community and keep them coming back for more. Even if your social media account is more aspirational and lifestyle-oriented, be sure to think about what you're offering that will keep people's attention, and what would make them likely to purchase the products you showcase.</p>
<h2>3. Post regularly</h2>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIn_7CbB1bC/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Camilla (@gracefulfaceblog)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-08-02T23:36:21+00:00">Aug 2, 2016 at 4:36pm PDT</time></p>
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<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>When your followers know you have new content coming regularly, they're more likely to seek it out and engage with your posts. Your followers will feel like they know you better. Brands will know that you post consistently, and are likely to follow through with reviewing or showcasing their products. This may differ based on the social media platform &mdash; you could post several times a day on Instagram without fatiguing your followers, for instance, whereas you may want to post less frequently on Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms.</p>
<h2>4. Do your hashtag or keyword research</h2>
<p>On Instagram and Twitter, make sure you're using targeted, effective hashtags. For other social media platforms such as YouTube and blogs, make sure you do your keyword research so your posts show up in Google search.</p>
<h2>5. Create great visuals</h2>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BRJxnPhgdF1/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Camilla (@gracefulfaceblog)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-03-02T22:36:38+00:00">Mar 2, 2017 at 2:36pm PST</time></p>
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<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>If you want brands to be showcased on your account, you need to make their products look good. While you don't have to be a professional photographer, spend some time setting up your photos, and make sure they're clear, well-lit, and pleasing to the eye. Photo editing apps such as VSCO, Snapseed, and Facetune can help you create social media-ready photos without the need for professional photo-editing software. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/these-6-instragrammers-are-getting-rich-by-traveling-the-world" target="_blank">6 Instagrammers Getting Rich by Traveling the World</a>)</p>
<h2>6. Focus on engagement</h2>
<p>Social media isn't all a numbers game, contrary to popular opinion. You may only have a few hundred followers, but if you have a high proportion of your followers commenting and &quot;liking&quot; your posts, you show brands that your followers care about your opinions. To many brands, engagement counts as much as numbers, and in some cases, more. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-social-media-stars-who-earn-way-more-than-you?ref=seealso" target="_blank">5 Social Media Stars Who Earn Way More Than You</a>)</p>
<h2>7. Be authentic</h2>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNyO9OSh1Ik/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Camilla (@gracefulfaceblog)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2016-12-09T05:37:05+00:00">Dec 8, 2016 at 9:37pm PST</time></p>
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<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>Everyone on the social media scene harps on the importance of being authentic, but it isn't always easy when you're putting only your best photos and content out there on the internet. There's a fine line between appearing professional (and thus appealing to brands) and being approachable. Don't be afraid to share a little bit about yourself personally, but don&rsquo;t veer into the realm of too much information or negativity.</p>
<p>It may seem a little odd to say this in an article about how to get free stuff, but don't be too focused on getting free stuff. Your followers can spot a mercenary attitude a mile away, and your account won't grow if it seems like it only exists to get freebies. I started my account to chronicle my hobby, not to get free products. The free swag was just a nice byproduct of being immersed in a great community.</p>
<h2>8. Join influencer apps and networks</h2>
<p>The Influenster app is probably the most well-known and popular influencer app, with broad categories such as food, haircare, home goods, beauty, and more. With this influencer network, you receive free samples to review on your social media accounts. The more followers you have, the more likely you are to receive samples regularly, though I started receiving products even when I only had a few hundred followers.</p>
<p>I've also started using Brandbacker, an influencer network that allows you to apply to do brand campaigns in exchange for free products or sometimes paid opportunities.</p>
<h2>9. Approach brands directly</h2>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSOpfAyAFlL/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Camilla (@gracefulfaceblog)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-03-29T16:33:12+00:00">Mar 29, 2017 at 9:33am PDT</time></p>
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<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><p>Once you have a social media presence and have established your niche, it doesn't hurt to approach brands directly for free samples to showcase. You can approach brands via private message on social media, or look for their marketing or PR contacts via their websites. Send a concise, professional message, and tell them what value you bring to the table. Do you give really helpful, detailed reviews? Or beautiful photography? How can your content benefit the brand?</p>
<p>Smaller brands are often willing to reach out to influencers with smaller followings, but you'd be surprised what response you might get (and the free goodies) if you reach out to larger brands who may have more of a marketing budget.</p>
<h2>10. Be clear about expectations</h2>
<p>It's exciting to get free products just for putting up a post on social media. Just be sure to set clear expectations, both for yourself and for brands you're working with, about just how much content you will create. Some brands expect you to create several posts across several different social media platforms in exchange for a free item. Others may be willing to send you the products with no strings attached and hope that you'll post something positive about them. It's best to be on the same page to begin with, and try to get it in writing, even if it's just a quick note via private message. And remember, you can always say no. Free products don't pay the bills, after all.</p>
<p>Everyone wants a slice of the social media marketing pie these days, so if you're willing to create great content in exchange for free stuff, it's not too hard to do so. Many small influencers are able to support their hobby this way, without having to shell out too much of their own cash. And who knows, once you've mastered micro-influencer territory, you might even be able to turn your social media account into a paid side gig.</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/camilla-cheung">Camilla Cheung</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/heres-how-one-social-media-micro-star-gets-lots-of-free-stuff">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-2">
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</div> </div><br/></br>ShoppingTechnologyFacebookfree goodiesfree stuffinstagramside hustlesnapchatsocial mediasocial media followingsocial media startwitterMon, 22 May 2017 08:00:12 +0000Camilla Cheung1950344 at http://www.wisebread.comFlashback Friday: 34 Smart Ways to Improve Your Social Media Presencehttp://www.wisebread.com/flashback-friday-34-smart-ways-to-improve-your-social-media-presence
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<p><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/7-easy-ways-to-clean-up-your-image-on-social-media?ref=fbf">7 Easy Ways to Clean Up Your Image on Social Media</a> &mdash; Maybe you spent the first few years on Facebook posting keg party photos and trolling celebrities. Yeah, that's not a good look. If you need to do some cleanup, follow these easy steps.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-earn-extra-income-with-twitter?ref=fbf">How to Earn Extra Income With Twitter</a> &mdash; Twitter is a great place to connect with people and brands directly. You can also use your account to make some extra money with sponsored tweets and other branded content.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/jumpstart-your-job-search-with-instagram?ref=fbf">Jumpstart Your Job Search With Instagram</a> &mdash; Social media platforms can also aid you in your job search. Curate your feed and you might hashtag your way into a new gig!</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/chrissa-hardy">Chrissa Hardy</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/flashback-friday-34-smart-ways-to-improve-your-social-media-presence">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-3">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal DevelopmentTechnologyFacebookfbfflashback fridayinstagramInternetinternet presenceLinkedInsnapchatsocial mediasocial media tipstwitterFri, 14 Apr 2017 08:30:08 +0000Chrissa Hardy1927497 at http://www.wisebread.comSo Far Trump Has Called Out 6 Companies: Here's How They've Donehttp://www.wisebread.com/so-far-trump-has-called-out-6-companies-heres-how-theyve-done
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<p>Even before he took over the @POTUS Twitter account, President Trump had long been using the 140-character social media network to settle scores, sound off on critics, initiate attacks, as well as denounce or praise the mechanics of several American businesses. Find out what happened to companies Trump has boosted or blasted. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-a-donald-trump-presidency-could-impact-your-wallet?ref=seealso" target="_blank">6 Ways a Donald Trump Presidency Could Impact Your Wallet</a>)</p>
<h2>1. The New York Times</h2>
<p>On several occasions, Trump has taken on The New York Times on Twitter, calling the newspaper &quot;so totally wrong,&quot; among other things. In one anti-Times Twitter episode, Trump claimed that the newspaper &quot;is losing thousands of subscribers because of their very poor and highly inaccurate coverage of the 'Trump phenomena.'&quot;</p>
<p>So how did The Great Gray Lady fare? In a tweet responding to Trump's claims of falling readership, the newspaper's parent company said that new subscriptions were surging on the heels of Trump's public criticism. As a result, stock in the Times' parent company soared tenfold <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/29/new-york-times-subscriptions-soar-tenfold-after-donald-trump-wins-presidency.html" target="_blank">immediately following Election Day</a>.</p>
<h2>2. Boeing</h2>
<p>Trump called for the cancellation of a deal with Boeing to develop a new Air Force One. &quot;Cancel order!&quot; he tweeted, calling the situation &quot;totally out of control,&quot; citing sky high costs.</p>
<p>In the immediate wake of the incident, nervous investors drove Boeing stock down by selling off shares, but the stock's value ultimately rebounded. Boeing has since engaged in several talks and price negotiations <a href="http://fortune.com/2017/01/17/donald-trump-boeing-ceo-conversation/" target="_blank">with Trump</a>, and company officials have said that the two parties are close to making a deal on the cost of the new presidential aircraft fleet.</p>
<h2>3. L.L. Bean</h2>
<p>Linda Bean, granddaughter of L.L. Bean's founder, came under fire in the media when news broke that the thousands of dollars she had donated toward Trump's presidential candidacy were, in fact, illegal. Liberal groups responded by initiating boycotts of the Maine retailer. Then Trump chimed in: &quot;Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage. People will support you even more now. Buy L.L.Bean,&quot; he said on Twitter.</p>
<p>In an interview on Fox Business Network, Linda Bean said her company experienced an <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/01/12/linda-bean-calls-boycott-un-american-trump-says-thank-in-tweet.html" target="_blank">&quot;uptick&quot; in business after Trump's tweet</a>. She did not provide specific numbers.</p>
<h2>4. Fiat Chrysler</h2>
<p>&quot;It's finally happening,&quot; Trump tweeted. &quot;Fiat Chrysler just announced plans to invest $1 BILLION in Michigan and Ohio plants, adding 2,000 jobs.&quot; The praise came after Trump criticized automakers for importing vehicles to the U.S. from Mexico. Fiat officials said its decision to make <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/01/09/trump-lauds-fiat-chrysler-but-ceo-seeks-policy-clarity/96361424/" target="_blank">the $1 billion investment</a> praised by Trump had long been in the works, and was not in reaction to criticism by Trump. &quot;It wasn't a pre-emptive strike against a tweet,&quot; said Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Fiat's stock value enjoyed a bump on the heels of the announcement of its investment in Michigan and Ohio, and Trump's subsequent kudos.</p>
<h2>5. Carrier</h2>
<p>A hallmark of the Trump campaign was keeping American jobs within U.S. borders. For Trump, news that Carrier would export 1,400 jobs from Indiana to Mexico became a symbol of a larger problem. But Trump moved to negotiate with the company, securing a deal in which more than half the jobs said to be headed for Mexico would instead remain in Indiana. As part of the deal, the air conditioning manufacturer received <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/business/economy/trump-carrier-pence-jobs.html?_r=0" target="_blank">seven million dollars in tax incentives</a>. &quot;Big day on Thursday for Indiana and the great workers of that wonderful state,&quot; Trump tweeted. &quot;We will keep our companies and jobs in the U.S. Thanks Carrier.&quot;</p>
<p>Carrier benefited from Trump's use of the company's plans to export U.S. jobs to Mexico by becoming the recipient of $7 million in state tax breaks.</p>
<h2>6. CNN</h2>
<p>&quot;You are fake news,&quot; Trump told a CNN reporter at the last news conference before his inauguration, adding, &quot;Your organization is terrible.&quot; The remarks by Trump came after CNN reported that intelligence officials had briefed Trump on an unverified document alleging that the Russian government has compiled unflattering and compromising information about him. Trump punctuated his opinion on CNN's reporting of the matter with a tweet: &quot;@CNN is in a total meltdown with their FAKE NEWS because their ratings are tanking since election and their credibility will soon be gone!&quot; CNN responded by saying that it stands by the story.</p>
<p>Despite losing viewers <a href="http://www.thewrap.com/donald-trump-says-cnn-ratings-tanking-since-election-is-he-right/" target="_blank">since the election</a>, CNN is up in year-to-date viewership. CNN's Jake Tapper, who contributed reporting to the network's story on the dossier allegedly compiled by Russia, tweeted this: &quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/819554352939618304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@TheLeadCNN was #1</a> in its time slot in the demo Tuesday, thanks for watching folks!!&quot;</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/brittany-lyte">Brittany Lyte</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/so-far-trump-has-called-out-6-companies-heres-how-theyve-done">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Consumer AffairsBoeingbusiness newscarriercnndonald trumpfiatLL Beanpotuspresidentthe new york timestrumptwitterFri, 03 Feb 2017 10:30:27 +0000Brittany Lyte1884231 at http://www.wisebread.comHow to Earn Extra Income With Twitterhttp://www.wisebread.com/how-to-earn-extra-income-with-twitter
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<p>If you spend time on Twitter, you have likely seen promoted posts from celebrities hawking products. Kim Kardashian, the queen of social media, reportedly makes $10,000 a tweet. But even if you are not a celebrity, you can still make plenty of money from social media. If you have a strong following on Twitter, you can turn it into an income stream. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money?ref=seealso">6 Ways Social Media Can Save You Money</a>)</p>
<h2>What You Need to Make Money</h2>
<p>To make money off of Twitter, you need to have an account with a following. The money you can charge is based on a variety of factors. If you have a smaller fan base, but your followers are very engaged with your posts, you can charge more than someone with a large but disconnected following.</p>
<p>To be able to charge clients for tweets, you should build an audience of several thousand followers. Build your following by regularly posting content throughout the day. But most importantly, be social. Reply and tweet to other people to start conversations. Participate in Twitter chats to meet new people and get your name out there.</p>
<h2>How to Get Connected to Advertisers</h2>
<p>There are many different ways to get connected to advertisers, including sites that act as the middleman.</p>
<h3>Use PaidPerTweet</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.paidpertweet.com">PaidPerTweet </a>connects advertisers with millions of users, from celebrities to bloggers and everyday people. For a fee, advertisers can select a user to issue a tweet from their account. Fees range from $1 a post to $5,000 a post. For example, comedian George Lopez charges $2,000 a tweet. &quot;Camibeth33,&quot; a self-described social media junkie, charges just $1 a tweet to reach her 9,000 followers.</p>
<h3>Reach Out to Brands Directly</h3>
<p>While PaidPerTweet can connect you to advertisers, there is no guarantee anyone will select you out of the millions of users. That's why it makes sense to skip the intermediary and reach out to brands yourself. For example, if you tweet often about beauty products and style trends, connect with growing brands to see if they'd want to get their products in front of your followers. Many times, a groundswell of normal people can launch a brand more successfully than hiring a celebrity spokesperson, as the regular person has more credibility and authenticity.</p>
<h3>Post Great Content and Sit Back</h3>
<p>If you post great content regularly and build your audience, chances are, brands will come to you. List in your profile that you are PR friendly, and you will likely receive messages from companies asking you to post reviews of their products in return for free trials or a fee.</p>
<h2>Other Ways to Make Money on Twitter</h2>
<p>Besides getting paid to tweet, there is another way to make income from your Twitter account. Sign up for affiliate accounts and tweet links to your favorite products.</p>
<p>Some sites, like <a href="http://about.shopstyle.com/">Shopstyle</a>, pay you per click. Every time someone clicks on a link you tweet, you get a few cents. On other platforms, like <a href="http://www.amazon.com">Amazon's</a> affiliate program, you get a percentage of whatever purchase users make. If they click on your item, but buy other things as well, you also get a percentage of those sales.</p>
<p>When using affiliate links, it's best to focus in on a specific niche, such as fashion, beauty, pet care, or technology. The products you feature should fit the theme of other content you post regularly. So if you post a lot of dog pictures, tweeting out links to kibble brands or grooming tools will be a natural fit.</p>
<p>Use affiliate links sparingly so it doesn't become spammy, and post products you have actually used and like. That will be more appealing to your followers and encourage more clicks and purchases.</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/kat-tretina">Kat Tretina</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-earn-extra-income-with-twitter">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Extra IncomeTechnologyadvertisingpaid tweetsside hustleside jobsocial mediatweetstwitterWed, 02 Nov 2016 09:30:31 +0000Kat Tretina1825231 at http://www.wisebread.com5 Social Media Stars Who Earn Way More Than Youhttp://www.wisebread.com/5-social-media-stars-who-earn-way-more-than-you
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<p>Did you know that there are thousands of people out there earning incredible amounts of money through social media? That's right, social media stars can make thousands, even millions of dollars per year through sponsored posts, original content, and consistent engagement with their followers. Here are five social media celebs who might make you want to quit your job to go full-time on Instagram!</p>
<h2>1. Brandon Stanton</h2>
<p>In 2010, Stanton lost his job and decided to start taking photos of random people in New York City. At the time, he had no idea that posting Humans of New York on Facebook would lead him to over 12 million likes and a career in public speaking, photography, and writing. It has also lead him to amazing contributions to local and international charities.</p>
<p>Stanton takes beautiful portraits and captions them with touching stories. These photos and stories were so sharable that many of them went viral on Facebook in just a few hours.</p>
<p>While Stanton hasn't publicly disclosed his income, he has expressed on a Reddit thread that he was never in it for a payout and he gave over a half a million dollars to charity in a six month period alone.</p>
<p>His work on collaborations, occasional magazine spreads, speeches, and media appearances keep him afloat. Stanton added, &quot;I signed two book deals which pay the rent. Also, I live cheaply.&quot;</p>
<p>The man is an inspiration to millions and he continues to showcase different people's fascinating life stories through his work. His 50-day trip to 10 countries in the Middle East helped to shed light on the situation in the region. If you haven't seen his work, check out Humans of New York on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/humansofny/?hl=en">Instagram</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Followers</strong>: 17.75M (Facebook), 5.5M (Instagram)</p>
<p><strong>Platform</strong>: Facebook &amp; Instagram</p>
<p><strong>Earnings</strong>: Undisclosed</p>
<h2>2. Sean McBride</h2>
<p>This Snapchat master earns his money through drawing and photo mash-ups on the popular video-based social media platform. He taught himself how to draw by learning from other artists' work and today he can make tens of thousands of dollars from a single advertising deal on his Snapchat account.</p>
<p>According to Forbes, McBride can earn several thousand dollars per image! Who is paying Sean all of this money for Snapchat images? Brands like Taco Bell, Disney, and numerous television networks have been his sponsors, and many of his deals have been for over $30,000. Not bad for an online artist!</p>
<p>McBride goes by the name of &quot;Shonduras&quot; on Snapchat, he is the platform's first big celebrity, and he's one of the first people to make real money from Snapchat art. If you love Snapchat, you might want to follow Sean to get some ideas on how to become a successful Snapchat artist.</p>
<p><strong>Followers</strong>: Undisclosed</p>
<p><strong>Platform</strong>: Snapchat</p>
<p><strong>Earnings</strong>: $100K+ per week</p>
<h2>3. Brittany Furlan</h2>
<p>Brittany has made her fortune through <a href="https://vine.co/brittanyfurlan">her wildly entertaining short Vine videos</a>. Her quirky and fun clips have earned her 9.8 million followers and a lucrative career in acting and social media.</p>
<p>The vines have led her to create a new sketch show with Seth Green. In December of 2015, Brittany told The New Yorker that for every million followers she gets, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/hollywood-vine">she can add another $5,000 to the price tag for a branded Vine</a>.</p>
<p>Using this calculation, it's not unlikely that Furlan is earning around $49,000 for a six-second vine posted to her 9.8 million followers. That's equal to nearly a half a million dollars per hour!</p>
<p><strong>Followers</strong>: 9.8 million</p>
<p><strong>Platform</strong>: Vine</p>
<p><strong>Earnings</strong>: $49K per video</p>
<h2>4. PewDiePie</h2>
<p>The granddaddy of all Internet earners, it is estimated that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/PewDiePie">PewDiePie's gaming channel</a> generated over $12 million in 2015, according to Forbes. The amazing thing is that Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg is earning his income by playing video games and publishing them on YouTube.</p>
<p>The next time your parents tell you that gaming is a waste of time, you may want to lead them to Felix's YouTube channel and tell them that you're trying to make a career out of it.</p>
<p><strong>Subscribers</strong>: 45.5M</p>
<p><strong>Platform</strong>: YouTube</p>
<p><strong>Earnings</strong>: $12M per year</p>
<h2>5. Rhett &amp; Link</h2>
<p>These two southern boys have a hilarious and extremely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/RhettandLink">entertaining YouTube Channel</a> featuring &quot;Good Mythical Morning,&quot; a sort of off-the-wall morning show for people who want to have a good laugh with their coffee.</p>
<p>According to Forbes, the duo earned over $4.5 million from YouTube sponsorships and ads in 2015 working with numerous brands including Wendy's, Gillette, and Toyota. These guys are my personal favorite on this list and I find myself tuning into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ49NV73ttrs52WlwbXLctNtOMxlbZ3VO">Good Mythical Morning</a> whenever it appears in my feed.</p>
<p><strong>Subscribers</strong>: 4.1M</p>
<p><strong>Platform</strong>: YouTube</p>
<p><strong>Earnings</strong>: $4.5M per year</p>
<h2>Can Anyone Do It?</h2>
<p>Of course, just like any superstar career, it is possible for pretty much anyone to make money from social media, but the fact is that it's highly unlikely to be as successful as these stars. These people are just like the actors who walk the red carpet in Hollywood, in that they've made it where few people have ever gone before. They've struck gold and that's not easy to replicate.</p>
<p>While it may not be easy to earn a full-time income from social media, it's an exciting prospect, and if you're passionate about it, hopefully you'll be inspired by these people who are really making a living at it.</p>
<p><em>Have you ever made any money from social media? Share your experience in the comments below!</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/nick-wharton">Nick Wharton</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-social-media-stars-who-earn-way-more-than-you">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-earn-extra-income-with-twitter">How to Earn Extra Income With Twitter</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>EntertainmentExtra IncomeFacebookinstagrammoneyside gigsnapchatsocial mediasocial media starstwitterYouTubeMon, 05 Sep 2016 10:30:15 +0000Nick Wharton1784423 at http://www.wisebread.comBest Money Tips: Who to Follow on Twitter to Save on Everythinghttp://www.wisebread.com/best-money-tips-who-to-follow-on-twitter-to-save-on-everything
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<p>Welcome to Wise Bread's <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/topic/best-money-tips">Best Money Tips</a> Roundup! Today we found articles on who to follow on Twitter for maximum savings, easy Harry Potter DIYs, and bizarre dessert combos that actually work.</p>
<h2>Top 5 Articles</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.thepennyhoarder.com/twitter-accounts-to-follow-save-money/">These 7 Twitter Accounts Can Help You Save Money on Just About Anything</a> &mdash; These Twitter accounts share the latest deals from Amazon, Nike, Wal-Mart, and other major retailers. [The Penny Hoarder]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Harry-Potter-DIYs-38235998#photo-38235998">22 Easy Harry Potter DIYs That Even Muggles Can Make</a> &mdash; Butterbeer is one of Harry Potter's favorite drinks &mdash; and now you can enjoy it too! [PopSugar Smart Living]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cheapism.com/blog/weird-desserts-13970/">12 Bizarre Dessert Combinations That Work</a> &mdash; Savory flavors in ice cream have gotten more popular. Try garlic ice cream for something different! [Cheapism]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Bite/2016/0627/Eight-countries-taking-action-against-marketing-junk-food-to-kids">Eight countries taking action against marketing junk food to kids</a> &mdash; Food marketers have expanded and intensified marketing efforts to children through a variety of channels, but these eight countries have taken steps to limit the harmful impact of junk-food marketing. [The Monitor]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dontpayfull.com/blog/how-to-find-cheap-rental-cars">How to Find Cheap Rental Cars</a> &mdash; An unlimited mileage package may be the less expensive option if you're going on a road trip or you just want the freedom to drive around without worrying about extra charges. [Don't Pay Full]</p>
<h2>Other Essential Reading</h2>
<p><a href="http://everythingfinanceblog.com/17790/salary-negotiation-tips.html">5 Salary Negotiation Tips Everyone Needs to Follow</a> &mdash; If there is no wiggle room in the salary, ask for other benefits like vacation time, flex time, or cellphone reimbursement. [Everything Finance]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/six-things-productive-people-do-every-morning/">Six Things Productive People Do Every Morning</a> &mdash; If there are any personal tasks that take no more than 10 minutes to do, resolve them before you go to work. [Pick The Brain]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.leadingedgeadvocate.com/feel-better-when-it-seems-impossible/">5 Easy Ways to Make Yourself Feel Better When It Seems Impossible</a> &mdash; Don't allow yourself to wallow in your misery. Get up and get a workout! You'll release some frustration and burn some calories at the same time. [Leading Edge Advocate]</p>
<p><a href="http://www.easyways.net/13-easy-ways-get-protein/">13 Easy Ways To Get More Protein</a> &mdash; Chicken and turkey are great sources of protein, and you can prepare them in a variety of ways. Just make sure to cut the skin and fat to avoid increasing the bad cholesterol in your body. [easy Ways]</p>
<p><a href="http://parentingsquad.com/9-summer-parenting-fails-you-should-avoid">9 Summer Parenting Fails You Should Avoid</a> &mdash; Sure, it's hot, but that doesn't mean you have to be cooped up inside the house all summer. Find parks with tons of shades and fountains and spend some time outdoors. [Parenting Squad]</p>
<p><strong>$1,500 Giveaway!</strong> Don't forget to enter before June 30th for your chance to win $1,500 in prizes in our Rutgers Giveaway! If you are a young adult, take a quick survey on your financial decisions and you could win a $500 or one of five $200 Amazon gift cards. For more information and to enter, check out our <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/rutgers-is-giving-away-1500-to-wise-bread-readers">giveaway article</a>!</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/amy-lu">Amy Lu</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/best-money-tips-who-to-follow-on-twitter-to-save-on-everything">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-2">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/heres-how-one-social-media-micro-star-gets-lots-of-free-stuff">How I Scored Tons of Free Stuff By Building a Small Social Media Audience</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money">6 Ways Social Media Can Save You Money</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-to-score-a-last-minute-coupon">6 Ways to Score a Last-Minute Coupon</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/social-media-an-easy-source-of-coupons">Social Media: An Easy Source of Coupons</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-be-the-best-customer">How to be the best customer</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>Shoppingbest money tipstwitterWed, 29 Jun 2016 10:00:11 +0000Amy Lu1740771 at http://www.wisebread.com6 Ways Social Media Can Save You Moneyhttp://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money
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<p>While using popular social media platforms is a fun way to stay connected with family and friends, perhaps the most useful benefit is tapping into a new way to save money. Whether it be through negotiating a lower monthly bill, scoring a coupon, or finding the best local deals, with just a little bit of effort you can <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-surprising-ways-social-media-stars-make-money" target="_blank">use social media</a> to save hundreds of dollars every year. Here are some easy to implement tips to get you started in the right direction.</p>
<h2>1. Learn to Negotiate a Lower Bill Via Twitter</h2>
<p>Most large companies these days have employees who do nothing but monitor their social media feeds and respond directly to customer inquiries and complaints. Because of this, when it comes to negotiating a lower monthly bill, Twitter has become an excellent way to start the conversation. For example, I was recently able to do this with the folks at Verizon by accident when I responded to a friend's Tweet discussing cheaper cell phone services. Within minutes of my Twitter response, I had a Verizon representative send me a message via Twitter asking if they could help lower my bill. With their proactive help, I was able to lower my bill by $10 a month.</p>
<p>This experience led me to investigate other companies that respond quickly via Twitter, and sure enough I found many that did &mdash; namely Dish Network, DirecTV, AT&amp;T, and Sprint. Simply send a direct Tweet to the company, or respond to someone else talking about the company, and drop the hint that you're seriously considering leaving the company for a cheaper alternative. In many cases, you'll quickly get a response with actionable ways to lower your bill. Could be a phone number to call, or even better, the company representative will personally help you lower your bill.</p>
<h2>2. Use Facebook Messenger to Ask for a Coupon</h2>
<p>Facebook Messenger has also become a great tool to score a deal or coupon. Simply visit the retailer's Facebook page, click on the &quot;Message&quot; button, and send them a polite message asking if they have a coupon code for free shipping or perhaps 15% or 20% off your purchase. Most big-name retailers have staffers standing by to respond to your message, often within minutes. The best part is they are armed with exclusive coupons and are ready to hand them out. After all, they know you're very close to completing your purchase and will often throw you a bone to do just that. So when you can't find a coupon in the more traditional ways, be sure to use Facebook Messenger to avoid paying full price.</p>
<p>Also, if the retailer does not have a current coupon to hand out, I've had some let me know via Messenger when a new coupon was going to be released. I'd then wait and make my purchase with the money saving coupon in-hand.</p>
<h2>3. Instagram Descriptions Often Have Coupons</h2>
<p>Using Instagram to save money with coupons is not something that immediately comes to mind for most shoppers. But the fact of the matter is many retailers and restaurants are starting to use their Instagram profile pages to drop new coupons and deals. For example, I just recently used a coupon on the Dunkin' Donuts profile page to get a free cup of coffee with my doughnut purchase. The key to making this work is to follow your favorite shops and restaurants and get in the habit of checking their Instagram page before you complete your purchase.</p>
<h2>4. Search Pinterest Boards for Deals</h2>
<p>When it comes to saving money, Pinterest is a great tool but requires a different approach. Because Pinterest is a very static platform, searching for deals/coupons with hashtags is going to leave you frustrated with the lack of results. Instead, you'll want to search &quot;boards&quot; for deals and coupons to particular retailers that users have pinned. Boards are essentially a collection of saved pins and are often kept up-to-date by users. To make this happen, you'll type in your search in the search box, hit the filters button to include boards in your search, then hit enter. By doing it this way, you'll typically get the newest pins which includes a majority of coupons and deals that have yet to expire.</p>
<h2>5. Become a Hashtag Superhero</h2>
<p>By becoming proficient at using the underrated Twitter hashtag (#), you can quickly find where the best deals are located for specific items. For example, let's say you're in the market for a new mountain bike. A fantastic way to search the entire Internet for a great deal is go on Twitter and search #MountainBike #Deal (or #Sale), or #MountainBike #Coupon. Often Twitter users will combine hashtags when searching, like #MountainBikeCoupon and get frustrated with the results. But if you make it a habit of breaking-up the hashtags, you'll end up with a large list of discounts and coupons that you can use to quickly find the best deals.</p>
<p>Also, a great way to localize your search, especially for larger items that are expensive to ship, is to add your hometown to your search query. So sticking with the mountain bike example, do a Twitter search like this: #Sacramento #MountainBike #Sale. You'll end up with search results that can easily lead you to the best current deals and sales in your area.</p>
<h2>6. Use Live Chat the Right Way</h2>
<p>Most online shoppers are familiar with the live chat feature that many websites operate. Have a question about the product, or want to know more about sizing? The live chat operator typically has the answers. But have you ever started a live chat session for the sole purpose of saving money? If not, you should try it as it often works. I like to start the chat sessions with a question about the product as I don't want it to seem like a gratuitous discount hunter.</p>
<p>Once I chat them up a little bit, I'll politely ask if they have a coupon code I can use on my order. Maybe shipping is a little costly, or perhaps a competitor has a slightly cheaper price &mdash; both solid reasons to ask for a coupon. In many cases, the operator has a few coupon codes they can hand out at their discretion. So the bottom line is to be polite, have a real conversation, and you stand a great chance of getting a coupon code you can use to save money.</p>
<p><em>How do you use social media to save money?</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/kyle-james">Kyle James</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-4">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/flashback-friday-34-smart-ways-to-improve-your-social-media-presence">Flashback Friday: 34 Smart Ways to Improve Your Social Media Presence</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>ShoppingTechnologycouponscustomer servicedealsdiscountsFacebookhashtagsinstagramsocial mediatwitterTue, 17 May 2016 09:00:10 +0000Kyle James1708162 at http://www.wisebread.com6 Ways to Score a Last-Minute Couponhttp://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-to-score-a-last-minute-coupon
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<p>As any frugal shopper can attest, there's nothing worse than paying full-price when all your attempts to find a coupon come up empty. Fortunately, with a little outside-the-box thinking, there is almost always a way to score an online or in-store coupon and save significant money in the process. Here are six such ways that'll keep you from paying full-price on darn near anything. (See also:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wisebread.com/4-coupon-rules-that-stores-let-you-break?ref=seealso">4 Coupon Rules That Stores Let You Break</a>)</p>
<h2>1. Use Live Chat and Ask</h2>
<p>If you're shopping online and all of your attempts to find a coupon code for a particular retailer fail, try starting a live chat session and ask for one. Most large retail websites these days employ live chat operators that are standing by to help you with your purchase or answer any questions you might have. They also often have a list of coupon codes at their disposal that they can hand out at their discretion.</p>
<p>Politely start a conversation, chat them up a little bit, then ask if they might have a coupon code for 20% off or perhaps free shipping. Make this a healthy frugal habit and you can save significant money over the course of a year. Retailers where this really works includes Lands' End, Home Depot, Old Navy, Office Depot, Shutterfly, and LL Bean.</p>
<h2>2. Use a Competitor's Coupon</h2>
<p>If you're shopping at Michaels and you can't find a printable in-store coupon, just look for a JoAnn, AC Moore, or Hobby Lobby coupon instead as they'll happily accept competitor coupons. Other popular stores that will accept competitor coupons include Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, JoAnn, Office Depot, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Walmart.</p>
<p>When shopping in-store, the best way to gain quick access to these coupons is to arm your smartphone with a free coupon app from RetailMeNot or CouponSherpa. Then simply do a quick search for competitor coupons and save some easy money.</p>
<h2>3. Abandon Your Virtual Cart</h2>
<p>This tip is by far the most passive aggressive way to score an online coupon when you seem destined to pay full-price. It also takes a little patience, so it might not work if you need the item tomorrow. Many online retailers will try to entice you back by sending you a coupon via email if you leave, or abandon, items in your virtual shopping cart.</p>
<p>For this to work you need to have an account with the retailer so they have your email address in their system. Then simply add the item(s) you want to buy to your online cart, then logout and wait for your coupon. If you're going to get a coupon to come back and finish your purchase, you'll typically get it within 24 hours. Retailers that have been known to send out coupons this way include Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, JCPenney, Best Buy, Williams-Sonoma, Office Max, and Land of Nod.</p>
<h2>4. The Stores That Hand Them Out</h2>
<p>Are you aware that some store employees are armed with coupons that they'll happily scan for you when checking out at the register? For example, if you forget to bring in your &quot;20% off any 1 item&quot; coupon at Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, just politely explain the situation to the checkout employee, and more often than not, they'll pull one out from behind the counter and scan it for you.</p>
<p>A good way to judge whether the store you're shopping at might have a coupon ready to hand out is the frequency of their coupon offerings. If they always seem to have a coupon except for the day you happen to be shopping, there's a great chance an employee can get you one if you ask. Besides Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, stores where you should definitely ask include Kohl's, Harbor Freight, Macy's, and Michaels.</p>
<h2>5. Hit Up Facebook for a Coupon</h2>
<p>Another great way to find a coupon for a specific retailer is to hit up their Facebook page. All you have to do is send them a message politely asking for a coupon for some extra savings. Most large retailers have employees monitoring their Facebook presence and responding quickly to message requests. By quickly, I mean often within 30 minutes. You can either search Facebook directly to find the stores page or look for the Facebook icon on the retailer's homepage and click directly on it.</p>
<h2>6. Tweet for a Coupon</h2>
<p>Twitter is another excellent way to communicate directly with a retailer in an attempt to score a coupon. This is due to the fact that most Twitter feeds are constantly being monitored and a quick response is almost guaranteed. From the specific retailer's Twitter page, click on &quot;Message&quot; and type your coupon request. Be sure your request is polite and conversational and not demanding in tone.</p>
<p>Your chances of success rise substantially if you've had a previous bad customer service experience with the retailer. Briefly explain what happened in your Twitter message and often times the retailer will give you a coupon to make up for your bad experience.</p>
<p><em>How do you avoid paying full-price when a discount seems completely unavailable?</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/kyle-james">Kyle James</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-to-score-a-last-minute-coupon">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-6">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Shoppingcouponscustomer servicediscountsexpiredFacebooklive chattwitterWed, 13 Apr 2016 09:30:30 +0000Kyle James1687437 at http://www.wisebread.com5 Surprising Ways Social Media Stars Make Moneyhttp://www.wisebread.com/5-surprising-ways-social-media-stars-make-money
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<p>From a <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/05/vine_celebrities_money_ads_curtis_lepore_videos_jessi_smiles.html">singer making $8,000</a> through product placement in a six-second Vine clip, to a creator of YouTube makeup tutorials making about millions per year, the stories of social media stars making outrageous sums of money seem to be getting more and more common.</p>
<p>While the size of these paydays are remarkable, the things that social media stars do to earn those sums may be even more extraordinary. Here are five surprising ways social media stars make money.</p>
<h2>1. Unboxing Toys</h2>
<p>The genre of &quot;unboxing videos&quot; (a package being opened, while its contents are described) is one of the highest grossing niches on YouTube. Including <a href="https://youtu.be/HxuBuDS15Yw">blenders</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/qSMu_zeDmtk">coffee machines</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/eL7kF18s1p4">markers and pens</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/Cx4RsfqH1s8">smartphones</a> &mdash; if it comes in a box, you can bet there's somebody out there willing to watch it getting unboxed.</p>
<p>Unboxing videos can be so profitable to YouTube publishers that <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/youtube-s-highest-paid-star-is-a-woman-who-unboxes-disney-toys-062606350.html">2014's highest paid YouTube star</a> was a woman who unboxes Disney toys. According to one estimate, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyCollectorBR">DisneyCollectorBR</a> YouTube user made $4.9 million in 2014 just from YouTube ads! The identity of the mysterious woman with the soothing voice and cool nail art hasn't been revealed yet, but that matters little to her over 6.2 million subscribers. For example, her unboxing video of &quot;egg surprises&quot; branded by Angry Birds, SpongeBob, and Cars has over 106.8 million views to date.</p>
<h2>2. Playing Video Games</h2>
<p>Another high-grossing YouTube genre is the narration of video game playing. The king of this genre is Felix Kjellberg, a Swede in his late 20s better known as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/PewDiePie">PewDiePie</a>. With his trademark laughter, unique sense of humor, and constant string of curses (warning: videos contain <em>lots </em>of language that is NSFW), <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/forbes-names-pewdiepie-as-highest-earning-youtuber-with-annual-income-reaching-12m-a6695536.html">Kjellberg pulled in a cool $12 million</a> pretax over a 12-month period.</p>
<p>Other well-known vloggers posting video game-related clips include <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainSparklez">CaptainSparklez</a> (over 9 million subscribers), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Tobuscus">Tobuscus</a> (over 6.3 million subscribers), and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/SkyDoesMinecraft">SkyDoesMineCraft</a> (over 11.7 million subscribers). While advertisers are still trying to figure out the appeal of expletive-heavy commentary of Kjelberg playing video games, they are willing to pay him to get access to his over 41 million subscribers.</p>
<h2>3. Managing a Pet Superstar</h2>
<p>Not all social media stars walk on two legs.</p>
<ul>
<li>Maru, a shiba inu dog living in Japan, has <a href="http://www.instagram.com/marutaro/">over 2.3 million followers</a> on Instagram.</li>
<li>Grumpy Cat, a cat with a perma-frown, has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialGrumpyCat">over 8.3 million followers</a> on Facebook and <a href="http://www.instagram.com/realgrumpycat/">over 1.3 million followers</a> on Instagram.</li>
<li>Boo, a five-year old Pomeranian dog, has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Boo/">over 17 million followers</a> on Facebook.</li>
<li>Lil Bub, a rescue cat with a unique condition, has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iamlilbub">over 2.6 million followers</a> on Facebook and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/iamlilbub/">over 1.2 million followers</a> on Instagram.</li>
</ul>
<p>The lucky owners of these and other pets have been able to monetize their pet's large following in many ways. For example, Lil Bub charges admission for her appearances ($100 for her Meet and Greet Fundraiser at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York), and Grumpy Cat hawks plush toys ranging from <a href="http://www.grumpycats.com/grumpy-cat-merchandise/grumpy-cat-plush-toys/">$15.75 to $46.92</a> through her Amazon store.</p>
<h2>4. Making Fun of Dad</h2>
<p>In the late 2000s, comedian <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_halpern">Justin Halpern</a> was struggling to make ends meet with his writing job. Having to move back to his parents' house, he had a lot of free time on his hands and started a <a href="https://twitter.com/shitmydadsays">Twitter account</a> to keep track of his dad's &quot;rhetorical gems.&quot; Halpern had a hunch that those tweets could become inspiration for a great script.</p>
<p>He was absolutely right.</p>
<p>After getting noticed by high profile comedians, including Rob Corddry, his Twitter account gained a lot of traction (<a href="http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1990838,00.html">1.8 million</a> followers in 15 months). Based on his tweets, Halpern penned the <em>New York Times</em> bestseller, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061992704/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0061992704&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=wisbre03-20&amp;linkId=5YILQPG6JRTTZ2OD">Sh*t My Dad Says</a>, and landed a TV deal with CBS to develop the show <em>$#*! My Dad Says</em> (based on his book). Halpern went on to write a second book and to write scripts for a couple more TV shows. All of this started with a single tweet!</p>
<h2>5. Quitting Social Media</h2>
<p>In a world of over-sharing, the shocking thing to do is to stop sharing.</p>
<p>At age 19, Essena O'Neill had a lucrative modeling career leveraging her large following on Instagram, YouTube, and other social media channels. Through her hundreds of thousands of followers, 750,000 on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/essenaoneill/">Instagram</a> and 200,000 on YouTube, she was making money in many ways, including <a href="http://fusion.net/story/226082/model-essena-oneill-quits-social-media/">$2,000 in YouTube's ad revenue</a> per month and payments for product placement.</p>
<p>In November 2, 2015, she quit all social media through her video &quot;<a href="https://youtu.be/Xe1Qyks8QEM">Why I REALLY am quitting social media - The Truth</a>,&quot; warning others about the destructive nature of trying to gain approval online. O'Neill's original video (now deleted) quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of views and gained attention worldwide within just a few days. Some fellow YouTubers even <a href="https://youtu.be/WB3HtCMfZic">criticized her move</a> as a marketing ploy to gain even more attention. Despite her disappearance from social media, she <a href="http://time.com/4167856/essena-oneill-breaks-silence-on-quitting-social-media/">continues to make headlines</a> and announces her soon to-be-released satirical book, <em>How to Be Social Media Famous</em>.</p>
<p><em>What are some other unusual ways that social media stars make money?</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/damian-davila">Damian Davila</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-surprising-ways-social-media-stars-make-money">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-4">
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<div class="item-list">
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<li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-social-media-stars-who-earn-way-more-than-you">5 Social Media Stars Who Earn Way More Than You</a></span>
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</li>
<li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even">
<div class="views-field-title">
<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/heres-how-one-social-media-micro-star-gets-lots-of-free-stuff">How I Scored Tons of Free Stuff By Building a Small Social Media Audience</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/flashback-friday-34-smart-ways-to-improve-your-social-media-presence">Flashback Friday: 34 Smart Ways to Improve Your Social Media Presence</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money">6 Ways Social Media Can Save You Money</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>Career and IncomeEntertainmentFacebookincomeinstagramsocial mediasocial media starstwitterYouTubeMon, 22 Feb 2016 10:00:05 +0000Damian Davila1659839 at http://www.wisebread.com6 Twitter Updates That Are Making You Look Dumbhttp://www.wisebread.com/6-twitter-updates-that-are-making-you-look-dumb
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<p><a href="http://about.twitter.com/company">500 million tweets</a> are sent every day. Some of them are great, and some of them are doozies.</p>
<p>And then there are those tweets that make you look dumb. Smarten up your Twitter feed by avoiding these six types of terrible Twitter updates. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-ways-to-break-your-social-media-habit?ref=seealso">5 Ways to Break Your Social Media Habit</a>)</p>
<h2>1. #AllHashtags #AllTheTime #OMG #EpicFail</h2>
<p><iframe width="605" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/57dzaMaouXA"></iframe></p>
<p>Hashtags are a great way to tie your tweet to a trending topic (e.g. #HITsunami is used by Hawaii residents to tweet about hurricane warnings) or to curate a series of tweets around an event (e.g. #SDCC for San Diego Comic Con).</p>
<p>Using a hashtag is a good idea because it extends the reach of your updates beyond your followers and makes you part of a bigger conversation.</p>
<p>However, the key is moderation.</p>
<p>Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake show in this skit how <a href="http://youtu.be/57dzaMaouXA">abusing hashtags makes you sound like a total doofus</a>.</p>
<p>The folks at Twitter recommend using <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-using-hashtags-on-twitter">no more than two hashtags per tweet</a>, because:</p>
<ul>
<li>While tweets with hashtags receive <a href="http://linchpinseo.com/infographic-twitter-tweet-cheat-sheet">two times more engagement</a> than those without hashtags, tweets that use more than two hashtags show a 17% drop in engagement.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>Tweets with one or two hashtags have 21% higher engagement than those with three or more hashtags.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>Tweets with one or more hashtags are <a href="http://danzarrella.com/new-data-use-quotes-and-hashtags-to-get-more-retweets.html">55% more likely to be retweeted</a>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>2. TV and Movie Spoilers</h2>
<p>As a resident of Hawaii, I'm used to keeping away from the Internet on days that I want to catch a TV show in real time. For example, I'm a big fan of <a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-pitch">AMC's The Pitch</a>, and I religiously tune in whenever a new episode airs. Since the show's fanbase is very social media savvy, I have to tune out from Twitter to prevent from knowing the episode's winner in advance.</p>
<p>However, Hawaii residents are not the only ones that hate TV show and movie spoilers. <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/where-you-live-affects-how-you-watch.html">More than one-third of all primetime TV ratings are from time shifted viewers</a>, who view the content within seven days from airing, and another 10% comes from video on-demand viewers.</p>
<p>This means that over 140 million Americans watch time shifted TV every day. And they're dreading the sight of a spoiler. For example, it's estimated that <a href="http://blog.spoilershield.com/post/87930245968/why-game-of-thrones-rules-over-social-media">170,000 spoilers</a> are posted on social media per episode of Game of Thrones. &quot;Spoiler alert&quot; is such a common term nowadays that the term was added to the <a href="http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/merriam-websters_dictionary_new_words_spoiler_alert_selfie_catfish_and_more_for_2014-2014-05">2014 edition of the Merriam-Webster dictionary</a>.</p>
<p>So, be mindful of your followers and keep your Twitter feed spoiler-free. You'd be surprised at the great lengths some users go to <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5927427/how-to-avoid-spoilers-on-twitter">avoid spoilers on Twitter</a>. Heck, there's even an <a href="http://www.spoilershield.com">app to avoid spoilers on social media</a>! If you keep ruining somebody else's entertainment options, your follower count is likely to take a hit.</p>
<h2>3. Twitter Feuds</h2>
<p>Unlike feuds IRL, Twitter feuds have several disadvantages.</p>
<ul>
<li>They never remain between just two people. Fans of Lady Gaga are so well known for sending death threats to anybody that upsets the Mother Monster that the she had to <a href="http://tumblr.bornthiswayfoundation.org/post/58706449205/a-message-from-gaga#.UhKUWofp26E.facebook">ask them to stop</a>.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>Even after the parties involved make peace, somebody may keep a record of your bad behavior. TV host Jimmy Kimmel and rapper Kanye West went to great lengths to squash their Twitter feud. Even after West deleted his tweets against Kimmel, several publications still keep <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/09/27/jimmy-kimmel-kanye-west-twitter-feud/">screenshots of those tweets</a>.<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>Losing your cool can mean losing your job, too. <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/conservative-activists-request-capital-drop-alec-baldwin-post-gay-bashing-tweets-article-1.1392378">Capital One dropped actor Alec Baldwin</a> as a spokesperson after Baldwin tweeted homophobic rants against a British reporter, George Stark.</li>
</ul>
<p>Keep your tweets classy and your feuds private.</p>
<h2>4. ALL CAPS EVERYTHING</h2>
<p>Even if you&hellip;</p>
<ul>
<li>Have an estimated net worth of $3 billion,</li>
<li>Were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom,</li>
<li>Have been dubbed &quot;The Queen of All Media&quot;, or</li>
<li>Have launched your own TV network</li>
</ul>
<p>&hellip;you will still be <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/oprah-gets-pwned-by-shaq-on-twitter/">called out if you tweet in all caps</a>.</p>
<p>Even the U.S. Navy bowed down to the &quot;no all caps&quot; maxim on Twitter. The U.S. Navy had been sending messages in all capital letters since the 1850s but switched to mixed case in <a href="http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=74740">June 2013 </a>for all platforms, including social media channels.</p>
<p>Why? Because mixed case messages provide a more readable format and don't read like you're being shouted at.</p>
<h2>5. Only Retweets</h2>
<p>Cat got your tongue?</p>
<p>Remember that Twitter is asking <em>you</em> &quot;what's happening?&quot; not &quot;what would you like to retweet today?&quot;</p>
<p>Your followers are interested in your thoughts. A retweet every now and then is okay but don't let them fill up your feed. A good rule of thumb is to keep 80% of your tweets original, leaving 20% for retweets of interesting comments, links, or articles from somebody else.</p>
<p>Also, try to add your two cents to the original tweet by using the &quot;Quote&quot; button on Twitter's smartphone app or editing the text of the tweet. Even a &quot;good tip!&quot; or &quot;what do you think?&quot; or &quot;+1&quot; adds value to a retweet because it generates a conversation.</p>
<p>And please oh please, only retweet things that you have actually read. Don't assume what's actually said in an article just by the text of a tweet.</p>
<h2>6. Too Many Third-Party Tweets</h2>
<p>What do these tweets have in common?</p>
<ul>
<li>&quot;I just unlocked the 'Shutterbug' badge on @foursquare for adding photos to my check-ins. Say cheese!&quot;<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>&quot;How I did on Twitter this week: 48 New Followers, 1 Replies, 2 Retweets, 444 Retweet Reach. How'd your week go?&quot;<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>&quot;Having an awesome day! #fb&quot;<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>&quot;I gave @MrSuperMarketingGuy +K about Marketing on @klout!&quot;<br />
&nbsp;</li>
<li>&quot;Random Paper is out! paper.li/random-paper-12345&hellip; Stories via @abc @def @ghi&quot;</li>
</ul>
<p>All of them are automated tweets that add little to no value to your feed. More importantly, these type of tweets are lazy, impersonal, and irrelevant.</p>
<p>Imagine a group of people having a great time sharing stories and interacting with each other. This involves listening, paying attention, and reacting. Now picture a stranger butting into the group to drop off a recorder that randomly plays any of the one-liners from above, and then leaves. What a total jerk!</p>
<p>Twitter is a great place to interact with each other. Let's keep it that way.</p>
<p><em>What are Twitter updates that drive you nuts? Please share in comments (and on Twitter)!</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/damian-davila">Damian Davila</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-twitter-updates-that-are-making-you-look-dumb">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-3">
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/6-ways-social-media-can-save-you-money">6 Ways Social Media Can Save You Money</a></span>
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<span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.wisebread.com/7-facebook-updates-that-are-making-you-look-stupid">7 Facebook Updates That Are Making You Look Stupid</a></span>
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal DevelopmentTechnologyetiquettesocial mediatwitterFri, 12 Dec 2014 12:00:15 +0000Damian Davila1267189 at http://www.wisebread.com3 Easy Ways to Save Money With Twitterhttp://www.wisebread.com/3-easy-ways-to-save-money-with-twitter
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<p>I spend a lot of time on Twitter.</p>
<p>And by a lot of time, I mean &quot;my-wife-needs-to-hide-my-phone-from-me&quot; a lot of time. To justify all of my tweeting, I figured that I needed to prove that it could help us save some money. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/5-ways-to-break-your-social-media-habit?ref=seealso">How to Break Your Social Media Habit</a>)</p>
<p>With some planning and these tips, you can use your Twitter account to help you save money, too.</p>
<h2>1. Search for Deals and Discounts</h2>
<p>Before you buy anything online, make it a habit to first search on Twitter for coupon codes for the product or service you are about to order. Use the <a href="https://twitter.com/search">Twitter Search page</a> or search field on your browser or smartphone app to do some basic deal sleuthing.</p>
<h3>Find the Vendor on Twitter</h3>
<p>Some vendors offer a promo code if you follow them or retweet specific tweets. It is a good idea to also Google if the vendor offers discounts in exchange for following them on another social media channel (e.g. Facebook). (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/10-ways-to-make-facebook-productive?ref=seealso">How to Make Facebook Productive</a>)</p>
<h3>Check on Flash Sales</h3>
<p>Some companies use Twitter to promote clearance sales. For example, <a href="https://twitter.com/DellOutlet">@DellOutlet</a> is well-known for announcing flash sales of refurbished computers and electronics with up to 30% discount.</p>
<h3>Keep an Eye on Giveaways</h3>
<p>Some companies run giveaways for promo codes or gift cards in the most unexpected places. Take a look at this contest from the Zappos <em>Careers</em> account:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">Let's get this week started off right! Zappos trivia and winner gets a 20% Zappos discount coupon! What year did Amazon acquire @Zappos Zappos Careers (@InsideZappos) April 14, 2014</p>
<p>Now that's one account you wouldn't expect to get a 20% coupon code from! (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/score-coupons-for-every-online-store-even-the-ones-that-dont-have-coupons?ref=seealso">Get Coupons for Every Online Store</a>)</p>
<h3>Use Hashtags to Find Deals</h3>
<p>#deals, #freebies, #coupons are examples of some hashtags that can point you to savings. Remember that companies often release on holidays and special days (e.g. <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/2014-tax-day-freebies-and-discounts">Tax Day</a>).</p>
<h2>2. Use Twitter for Better Customer Service</h2>
<p>If you mail a letter or send an email to a company to file a complaint or request help, only the company's customer care department knows about your pain. But when you share your problem on Twitter, you are increasing the number of people who are aware of the issue. (See also: <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/9-ways-to-get-exactly-what-you-want-from-customer-service?ref=seealso">Getting What You Want from Customer Service</a>)</p>
<p>Publicly shaming a company on Twitter can be a useful tactic to get your voice heard. Here are some things to consider before sending off your tweet:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Avoid tweeting when you are upset.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Focus on facts, not rants. You want your tweet to have the potential for going viral for the right reasons.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Include in your tweet the account from the company's customer care department , instead of the general company Twitter account (e.g. @WarbyParkerHelp versus @WarbyParker).</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Consider including a high-profile and relevant journalist, consumer advocacy group, or local politician that would support your case.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Identify yourself via private message (PM) with a case ID or order number.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Follow the company so that its reps can private message you.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>If the company does not contact you within 48 hours, send a reminder tweet that it still has not replied to your original tweet</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Does it work? It surely can; just ask <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendell-potter/it-took-public-shaming-vi_b_1747309.html">Aetna</a>, <a href="http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2013/11/27/t-mobile-and-att-went-head-to-head-on-twitter-over-a-customer-t-mobile-won/">AT&amp;T,</a> <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-23943480">British Airways</a>, and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/01/08/frustrated-fliers-turn-to-twitter/4368629/">Southwest Airlines</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Sync Your Twitter Account to Company Services</h2>
<p>Some companies are using the Twitter API to provide some high-tech ways to save money. By connecting their accounts to their Twitter accounts, customers can find offers on Twitter. C<span style="font-size: 13px;">ompanies that have participated in the program are Virgin America, FedEx, Whole Foods, and H&amp;M.</span></p>
<p>Who says that all your tweeting cannot help you save money? After getting several coupon codes and freebies (and better customer care for a smartphone replacement claim through our carrier) through Twitter, my wife has become a lot more lenient to my Twitter usage.</p>
<p>As long as I keep on looking for discounts for her next shoe buying spree.</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Like this article? Pin it!</h2>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u5180/3%20Easy%20Ways%20to%20Save%20Money%20With%20Twitter.jpg" width="250" height="374" alt="" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/damian-davila">Damian Davila</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/3-easy-ways-to-save-money-with-twitter">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-4">
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</div> </div><br/></br>ShoppingdealsdiscountstwitterWed, 30 Apr 2014 09:24:15 +0000Damian Davila1137340 at http://www.wisebread.comSuze Orman's Approved Card Gets Mixed Reviews and Controversyhttp://www.wisebread.com/suze-ormans-approved-card-gets-mixed-reviews-and-controversy
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<p>On Monday, personal finance expert Suze Orman launched her prepaid debit card,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.theapprovedcard.com/">The Approved Card From Suze Orman</a>. Suze is putting all her credibility behind this product launch. &quot;I didn't just approve this card,&quot; said Suze. &quot;I created it.&quot;</p>
<p>Feedback on the card has been mixed and even sparked a&nbsp;<a href="http://20andengaged.com/suze-orman-approved-card-denied">Twitter war</a> between Suze and several top personal finance bloggers (<a href="#war">more on this below</a>).</p>
<h2>Reviewing the Featues</h2>
<p>Suze highlighted several features of the card on her website. Below is an analysis of each feature compiled from reviews from various media outlets and personal finance bloggers</p>
<p><strong>The Fees are Competitive</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/01/11/suze-orman-debuts-prepaid-debit-card-how-does-it-stack-up/">Fox Business</a>, compared to other checking account alternatives, The Approved Card offers competitive costs that best other celebrity prepaid cards. Cardholders pay a&nbsp;$3 purchase fee for the card and have to pay a $3 per month maintenance fee (which is waived for the first month). Using the card to make withdrawals from a Non-Allpoint ATM costs cardholders $2 per withdrawal and over the counter withdrawals cost cardholders $2 per transaction. For a list of all fees associated with The Approved Card, take a look at the <a href="http://www.theapprovedcard.com/fees/">Fee Schedule</a>.</p>
<p>Suze has faced a lot of backlash due to all the fees associated with her card. As Jeremy Vohwinkle from <a href="http://genxfinance.com/suze-orman-shows-true-colors-with-her-approved-prepaid-debit-card/">Generation X Finance</a> reminded his readers, Suze Orman is a personal finance expert who encourages people to get out of debt and avoid excessive fees. Throwing money towards debit card fees means consumers throw less money into eliminating their debt. This fact has raised some objections among personal finance experts and bloggers.</p>
<p><strong>You Get Free TransUnion Credit Scores</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>For the first year, cardholders get access to their TransUnion Credit Scores for free.</p>
<p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/suze-ormans-prepaid-card-afford-15346801?page=2#.Tw9bu5iXQig">ABC News</a> pointed out that consumers can access their credit reports once a year for free by going to <a href="https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp">AnnualCreditReport.com</a>. People can also access their credit reports from sites such as <a href="https://www.creditkarma.com/">Credit Karma</a>.</p>
<p><strong>The Approved Card is Part of The Credit Project</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Suze has embraced the idea that activity on debit cards should count towards a person's credit score. Since they aren't currently included in your credit report, Suze has set out on a mission to do that. Your activity on The Approved Card will be reported anonymously to TransUnion in an attempt to help Suze accomplish this goal. The Approved Card is the only card available that is part of this type of project.</p>
<p>Phil Taylor from <a href="http://ptmoney.com/suze-orman-approved-card-prepaid-card/">PT Money</a> highlighted the fact that The Approved Card will have no impact on cardholder's credit scores. He also made it clear that he believes The Credit Project is likely to fail due to the fact that prepaid and debit cards do not demonstrate someone's credit-worthiness.</p>
<p><strong>You Can Establish an Emergency Fund</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Cardholders have the ability to set up an emergency fund using their card. This way they can be prepared for unexpected expenses.</p>
<p><a href="http://blogs.smartmoney.com/advice/2012/01/09/sizing-up-suze-ormans-new-prepaid-card/">SmartMoney</a> believes the emergency fund aspect of the card could be helpful, but also pointed out that there are currently no interest rates associated with the emergency card feature. Interest rates are supposed to be implemented later this year.</p>
<p><strong>You Can Stay Debt Free</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Since the card is a prepaid card, provided you are debt free when you get the card, you will not be able to spend more than what is in your account, making sure you don't go into debt.</p>
<p><a href="http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/12/10120712-the-truth-behind-suze-ormans-new-debit-card">MSNBC</a> highlighted the fact that The Approved Card is similar to other prepaid cards in regards to keeping people from going into debt. In an interview with MSNBC, Gerri Detweiler from Credit.com made it clear that The Approved Card is &quot;a very typical prepaid card.&quot;</p>
<p><strong>The Card is FDIC Insured</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Deposits up to $250,000 are insured by the FDIC. Bancorp Bank, the card issuer, is a member of the FDIC.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.moneycone.com/suze-ormans-approved-prepaid-card-bad-wine-in-new-bottle/">MoneyCone</a> pointed out, FDIC insurance is common among most banks. The fact that this card is FDIC insured doesn't really set it apart from other debit cards offered by other banks.</p>
<p><strong>Cardholders get Free Identity Theft Protection from TrustID </strong></p>
<p>Identity theft is a huge issue today but with The Approved Card, cardholders will have access to free identity theft protection through TrustID.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/09/your-money/suze-orman-to-offer-her-own-prepaid-debit-card.html">The New York Times</a> highlighted Suze's statement that identity theft protection services tend to be costly. This service adds value to the card if cardholders had originally planned on purchasing identity theft protection.</p>
<h2><a name="war"></a>The Personal Finance Blogger Community Reacts</h2>
<p>One of the main responsibilities of personal finance bloggers is to report on product launches such as The Approved Card and give honest feedback.</p>
<p>A few of the top bloggers on the <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/top-100-most-popular-personal-finance-blogs/">Wise1000</a> publicized their thoughts on the card and consequently had a run in with Suze Orman on Tuesday evening. (The Wise1000 is Wise Bread's authoritative listing of the top personal finance blogs.)</p>
<p>Here are a few of the highlights from their interactions with Suze:</p>
<p><img width="598" height="605" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u4/suzeorman1.png" /></p>
<p><img width="598" height="454" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u4/suzeorman2.png" /><img width="509" height="252" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u4/Suzeorman3.png" /></p>
<p><img width="502" height="180" alt="" src="http://wisebread.killeracesmedia.netdna-cdn.com/files/fruganomics/u4/suzeorman4.png" /></p>
<p>Many personal finance bloggers were shocked by the dialogue from @SuzeOrmanShow. Phil Taylor of <a href="http://ptmoney.com/">PT Money</a>&nbsp;took the biggest hit in the scuffle. Phil is well-known throughout the personal finance blogging community. He was the organizer behind the personal finance blogging community's first ever <a href="http://www.financialbloggerconference.com/">Financial Blogger Conference</a> and is in the process of planning <a href="http://www.financialbloggerconference.com">FinCon 2012</a>. Phil has been featured on numerous sites including&nbsp;<a href="http://ptmoney.com/15-more-things-you-shouldnt-be-paying-for/">MSNBC</a>, <a href="http://money.usnews.com/topics/author/phil_taylor">U.S News &amp; World Report</a>, <a href="http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/author/ptmoney/">TurboTax</a>, and <a href="http://ptmoney.com/pt-money-featured-on-fox-business-willis-report/">Fox Business</a>.</p>
<p>Phil's blog is the <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/top-100-most-popular-personal-finance-blogs/community-leaderboard">26th most respected blog on our chart</a>, and he is the <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/top-100-most-popular-personal-finance-blogs/community-leaderboard">16th most active member</a> of our blogger community.&nbsp;Here's what Phil had to say about the exchange:</p>
<blockquote><p>First, regarding Suze: I like her and I respect her for her work. No doubt she's helped millions of people throughout her career. I consider her a teammate in helping people to improve their financial lives. She does it through her classes, books and TV shows. I try to do it through my little blog.</p>
<div>Second, I'm not one of these people who believes in inherently bad financial products. I actually like prepaid debit cards for certain situations. I even promote them on my site. I realize some people are &quot;unbanked&quot; for whatever reason and can't get a regular bank account, thus, the prepaid debit card comes into play. But only as a short-term solution until a bank account can be opened. The goal, in my opinion, should always be to get the unbanked folks off of fee-based products and into the mainstream banking arena.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>So my review was never about Suze or prepaid cards in general. My review was about how the card is being marketed. It is being marketed as a long-term solution to the unbanked <b>as well as</b> to&nbsp;the middle class (wanting out of credit card debt and&nbsp;disillusioned&nbsp;by big banks) and to the 99% (who've had it with the fees).&nbsp;This attempt to promote the card amongst the banked is what really fired me up.&nbsp;Additionally, the fees on the card actually make it just on-par with the best prepaid debit cards already on the market. So the card is not exactly revolutionizing the prepaid debit card market for the unbanked.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>As I said above, I like Suze, but I was obviously shocked and disappointed that she chose to respond to our tweets and blog post the way she did. She's since apologized, and I accept that.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The community response was awesome. I think the dismissive tone of Suze's tweets really rallied the community. It was as if she was telling us all that our opinions didn't matter. That obviously upset a lot of people.</div>
</blockquote>
<div>Briana from <a href="http://20andengaged.com/">20 and Engaged</a>&nbsp;&quot;was completely disheartened&quot; by the exchange but also felt that the fact that the pf blogger community supported each other during Suze's attack &quot;showed loyalty and true camaraderie.&quot; (Briana is the <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/top-100-most-popular-personal-finance-blogs/community-leaderboard">top contributing member in our blogger community</a>.)&nbsp;</div>
<p>As seen above, Suze did apologize for the dialogue. She maintains her own twitter account, so all tweets from @SuzeOrmanShow are written by Suze. Wise Bread reached out to Suze for additional comments on both her card and the Twitter exchange, but she declined to comment further at this time.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>What do you think of Suze Orman's Approved Card? Will you sign up for it? And what about the Twitter feud? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section!</em></p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/ashley-jacobs">Ashley Jacobs</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/suze-ormans-approved-card-gets-mixed-reviews-and-controversy">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-5">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Personal Financedebit cardprepaid debit cardSuze OrmantwitterFri, 13 Jan 2012 00:12:30 +0000Ashley Jacobs863364 at http://www.wisebread.com3 Simple Ways Small Business Can Maximize Twitterhttp://www.wisebread.com/small-business/3-simple-ways-small-business-can-maximize-twitter
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<a href="http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-ways-small-businesses-can-maximize-twitter" target="_blank">http://www.openforum.com/articles/3-ways-small-businesses-can-maximize-twitter</a> </div>
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<p>By now you've probably read, &quot;Your business needs to be on <a href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!&quot; in one small business marketing publication or another. But you may be asking yourself, &quot;How will Twitter help me improve my local small business?&quot;</p>
<p>When we think of Twitter, we often think of celebrities, the media, and businesses with a national brand (and national customers). And Twitter probably makes sense to you in those instances.</p>
<p>But maybe you're wondering how a local caterer, landscaper, or accounting firm can <a href="http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/75-top-twitter-tips-from-todays-small-business-moms-1" target="_blank">use Twitter to increase business</a> and referrals on a local level.</p>
<p><b>1. Build Relationships First, Business Second</b></p>
<p>Remember that Twitter is best used as a networking tool (and later a referral tool) for locally based businesses&mdash;not a sales pitch tool. You wouldn't walk into your local Chamber of Commerce meeting shouting your latest special over and over again every time someone walked up to you and said hello. And you shouldn't do it on Twitter either. Now that's not saying that you should never mention your business, but it shouldn't be more than a single digit percentage of your tweets.</p>
<p>The point of Twitter is to network and create relationships like you would in real life. As a small business owner, creating real relationships through Twitter will often lead to more referrals and potential business than tweeting your latest special ever could.</p>
<p>Need an example? Someone who follows <a href="http://twitter.com/sugarrae" target="_blank">me</a> on Twitter began conversing with me about a movie we both liked after I tweeted about it. We later found out that we also had a love of football in common. After multiple times of conversing back and forth, I ended up following the person back. Occasionally this person made mention that they owned a local fitness studio. About three months ago, a person I know in that locale tweeted saying they needed to get in shape. I tweeted back that so and so had a fitness studio where they lived and they should check it out. They did and ended up purchasing a membership.</p>
<p>That's the potential for business generation and referral power by creating real relationships on Twitter.</p>
<p><b>2. Make Local Connections</b></p>
<p>So now that you know how Twitter can help you generate business and referrals, how do you find your local community on Twitter? A site called <a href="http://tweet.grader.com/" target="_blank">Twitter Grader</a> has made it a pretty easy process.</p>
<p>If you're in a big metro locale, you'll likely find your city in the &quot;<a href="http://tweet.grader.com/top/cities" target="_blank">top cities</a>&quot; list. Let's say you live in San Diego. Click on San Diego from the top cities list and you'll quickly be given a list of the <a href="http://tweet.grader.com/location/?Location=San+Diego%2C+CA%2C+United+States" target="_blank">top 50 Twitter users</a> listing San Diego as their location in the Twitter bio.</p>
<p>But what if you don't live in one of the &quot;top cities&quot; cited on Twitter Grader? Never fear. You can click on any top city link and find the locals in your area by performing a new search at the top of that page for your own location. Say you're on the San Diego page. Simply change out the &quot;San Diego, CA, United States&quot; in the search box at the top of the page with &quot;Your City, Your State, Your Country&quot; and click &quot;Go&quot; and you'll be presented with a listing of the top users in that city.</p>
<p>Look at the bios of the users in your city and check out what they're tweeting about. Follow those you think you can find something in common with and/or that you'd be interested in learning more about.</p>
<p>Remember that your goal is not to advertise your services to these people but rather to form local connections much like you would at a Chamber of Commerce meeting. I typically tell people to follow those you'd be interested in having coffee with if Twitter were &quot;real life&quot;.</p>
<p>You can repeat this process for every city you can think of that your local business serves.</p>
<p><b>3. Find Media Contacts</b></p>
<p>Twitter is not only great for creating a referral network, but it can also be a great tool for gaining traditional media exposure for your business. Thousands upon thousands of journalists use Twitter. Much like you can seek out your local community on Twitter, you can also seek out the media that are local to you and/or specific to your niche as well. And a site named <a href="http://muckrack.com/" target="_blank">MuckRack</a> makes it incredibly easy.</p>
<p>MuckRack tracks the accounts of thousands of journalists on Twitter and various other social media networks. You can view their <a href="http://muckrack.com/publications" target="_blank">publications list</a> to find the Twitter accounts of all the reporters at specific publications such as <a href="http://muckrack.com/directory/charlotteobserver">The Charlotte Observer</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://muckrack.com/plans" target="_blank">paid version of MuckRack</a> also allows you to search by &quot;beats&quot; and topics to help you find reporters specific to your niche. While the pricing (starting at $99 per month) may be a bit hefty for many small business budgets, there is no minimum term or contract. So you can always sign up for one month and get as much &quot;advanced information&quot; as you can during that time.</p>
<p>As with making local contacts, the point of identifying these journalists is to attempt to create relationships with them and get on their radar long before you have a story idea to pitch or potentially offer up your expertise for their latest story.</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/rae-hoffman-dolan">Rae Hoffman-Dolan</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/3-simple-ways-small-business-can-maximize-twitter">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-1">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Small Business Resource Centermarketingnetworkingsmall businesssocial mediatwittertwitter strategyThu, 05 Jan 2012 18:23:29 +0000Rae Hoffman-Dolan844412 at http://www.wisebread.comIs Social Media Killing Your Business?http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/is-social-media-killing-your-business
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<a href="http://www.openforum.com/articles/is-social-media-killing-your-business" target="_blank">http://www.openforum.com/articles/is-social-media-killing-your-business</a> </div>
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<p>Social media isn't always a good thing, and it's certainly not a guarantee that your marketing is in the bag. Are you using social media in a way that builds <a href="http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/75-top-twitter-tips-from-todays-small-business-moms-1" target="_blank">a great reputation and enhances your business</a>, or are you achieving much different results?</p>
<p>If one or more of the following statements is true for you, you may be killing your business with social media.</p>
<p><strong>You&rsquo;re spending more time &quot;doing social media&quot; than you are on the important work of your business.</strong></p>
<p>What an easy trap to fall into. Who hasn't sat down to answer just one email or spend five minutes on Twitter, only to lose a couple of hours? Social media can be a fun, new toy that distracts you from what you need to be focused on, such as, producing things people want to buy, perfecting services, gaining sales, dealing with customer issues, getting better deals from your distributors, training your employees&hellip;</p>
<p><strong>You're confusing your customers with a fragmented approach.</strong></p>
<p>If you haven't taken some time to develop a unique selling proposition (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_selling_proposition" target="_blank">USP</a>) and the core message of your business, chances are you're throwing a lot of different things at your customers. Maybe you emphasize one service on your Facebook page, some other product with your Twitter account, and an entirely different aspect of your business on your blog or Youtube videos.</p>
<p>Customers who find you at one social media outlet and like what they see follow you to the next platform, only to see a different message from you. What are you all about? They're getting different pieces of the puzzle at different social media outlets, but nothing that provides a cohesive overview of your business.</p>
<p>Confused customers don't become loyal customers. If they can't quite figure out what your business is all about, they won't be ready to but any trust in what you offer.</p>
<p><strong>You&rsquo;re failing to provide the basic information people want.</strong></p>
<p>You've had this experience, most likely&hellip; You find a cool new site, a great blog or company, and you click over to find something basic: contact information, or a price list, or a description of service. And it's not there. Maybe there's no link, or there's a place holder page.</p>
<p>When this happens, whether it's on your business blog, website, Facebook page, Twitter page, or any of the other social media platforms you might be using, it's a huge turn-off for customers. Internet surfers are notoriously short on attention span. They don't need to check back later, and they probably won't, because there are ten thousand other options out there instead.</p>
<p>If you lose your potential customers because you're not providing basic information when and where they want it, you've probably lost them forever.</p>
<p><strong>You're making your business look amateur.</strong></p>
<p>Do-it-yourself works, to a certain point, and part of the appeal of social media marketing is the potential to jump into it and do a great job without a huge initial investment. For SMB owners, it's a dream come true: a great marketing outlet that doesn't cost thousands of dollars you don't have.</p>
<p>What isn't a dream, however, is the very amateur image you can produce with a misinformed DIY strategy. Slapping together a color-block logo and a cheesy tagline does not equal good branding. A website that looks like a clip-art explosion punctuated by long blocks of error-filled text does not equal a good web presence.</p>
<p>When you carry your unpolished branding efforts into your social media marketing, and then send potential customers to a dated, amateur website, you're not building your business. You're convincing potential customers that you really don't deserve to be taken seriously.</p>
<p><strong>You're skipping from one media outlet to another.</strong></p>
<p>If you get started on Facebook, decide Google+ is better, abandon Twitter for Youtube, you leave your customers frustrated and ready to find someone consistent.</p>
<p>You don't have to be on all the social media outlets. You most likely shouldn't be on more than a few. Too many false starts and a mile-long list of online profiles simply convinces potential customers that you can't stick to something long enough to make it work.</p>
<p><strong>You're providing content without direction.</strong></p>
<p>All content and no sales funnel means you're not (actively) helping your business grow.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong: free is wonderful, and can be a powerful marketing tool, especially in terms of social media. However, content can't do everything. It can help you establish expertise, and get people to pay attention to you, but you can't leave them there. Once you've gotten their attention, what do you want them to do?</p>
<p>To put it plainly, you're not putting that work into social media just so you can make the world a better place or make a lot of neat, new friends. No, you're putting that effort into social media so you can build your business.</p>
<p>That means that the end result of successful efforts in social media should be something profiting your business, either in cold, hard cash or in selling potential (mailing list, surveys, opt-in forms filled out by rabidly eager new customers, and so on).</p>
<p><strong>You're failing to respond to negative reviews and mentions.</strong></p>
<p>The good news about negativity in the form of review and press online is that you have the ability to access it, track down the source (usually), and respond to it publicly in the same sort of forum.</p>
<p>An accusation or negative review without rebuttal seems legitimate, even if it is not. A total lack of response says, &ldquo;Um, I really don't have anything to say to make this better...&rdquo;</p>
<p>If there are legitimate complaints, it's infinitely better that your potential customers see you acknowledge and correct your mistakes. Trustworthiness doesn't mean your business is perfect; it means that your business has a policy of quickly dealing with mistakes and making them right.</p>
<p>How are you using social media in your marketing? Are you actively building your business, or are you wasting your time?</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/annie-mueller">Annie Mueller</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/is-social-media-killing-your-business">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-6">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Small Business Resource CenterFacebookG+marketingonline marketingsmall businesssocial mediasocial media marketingtwitterSat, 05 Nov 2011 20:51:14 +0000Annie Mueller772751 at http://www.wisebread.comAre Your Tweets Being Heard?http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/are-your-tweets-being-heard
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<p>Twitter. That miraculous, 140 character marketing tool that has the power to both wow and frustrate.</p>
<p>If you&rsquo;re using <a href="http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/money/article/80-small-business-twitterers-you-should-be-following-1" target="_blank">Twitter for business</a>, you&rsquo;ve probably found that simply acquiring followers does not always equal a boon in your marketing efforts. Perhaps you sense that your tweets aren&rsquo;t being heard or, worse, your posts are ignored altogether. Why? Likely, you&rsquo;ve gathered a mass of the wrong followers&mdash;people who are just tagging along and not really interested in what you have to say or offer in the first place. Finding the right network on Twitter is imperative, and so is keeping them engaged. But, how do you find the right followers?</p>
<p>Your profile is the bulletin board that people stop to read when looking for new people to follow. An effective profile will tell people who you are, what you do and why they should follow you. It&rsquo;s a way for like-minded tweeters to find each other. So, use it wisely! Start by fixing your profile in three easy steps.</p>
<p><strong>1. Show Off</strong></p>
<p>Your face that is. That&rsquo;s right; add a picture of you for the Twitter world to see.</p>
<p>One of the first things people look at when considering people to follow is the avatar. Your avatar (or, avi) is the little picture you added to your account when you created your Twitter profile. That tiny little image has big, big power. Essentially, it can pull people in or turn them away. Using a generic image, such as the graphics Twitter gives you to choose from, or a random image that has nothing to do with your business, deflates your credibility. Only other deflated tweeters will follow you, so be sure your avi shows off the real you. Make that personal connection!</p>
<p><strong>2. Have a Reason</strong></p>
<p>You&rsquo;re allowed a short bio on your Twitter profile. This is your chance to tell the world who you are or what your business is about. Add in your description, a snippet about the things you&rsquo;ll be tweeting about. Perhaps you dish tips and ideas on throwing a smashing party. Or, perhaps your business is centered on quick recipes or meal preparation. Let people know you&rsquo;ll be tweeting about these things by mentioning it in your bio. You&rsquo;re most likely to find followers who are genuinely interested in what you have to say when you let them know what you&rsquo;re talking about in the first place.</p>
<p><strong>3. Have a Personality</strong></p>
<p>Because we humans are nosey by nature, we want to know the person behind the Twitter name. No matter if you&rsquo;re a hobby business or a thriving corporation, there is nothing wrong with injecting a little of your personality into your Tweets. You want to be personable, relatable and, well, human. People connect better when they feel they are interacting with a live person and not just a computer screen. Don&rsquo;t be afraid to talk a little about yourself, share some humor or interests you may have. When people get to know you, and subsequently like you, they&rsquo;ll look forward to reading your tweets.</p>
<p>Once you&rsquo;ve tweaked your Twitter profile to be a better reflection of your business, it&rsquo;s time to engage your followers. Over time, you&rsquo;ll want to start forming personal relationships with your followers. You want them to know you and want to hear from you.</p>
<p>How, exactly, do you do that?</p>
<p><strong>Share What Others Tweet About</strong></p>
<p>When someone you follow tweets about something you&rsquo;re interested in, share it. Retweet your favorite posts from those you follow; share the love. By doing so, you&rsquo;re making other people feel heard and they are likely to return the favor.</p>
<p><strong>Post Good Stuff</strong></p>
<p>Really, that&rsquo;s all there is to it. No fluff (unless fluff is your main reason for being on Twitter in the first place). Tweet about things that your followers will find valuable-information, how-to&rsquo;s, photos, etc... These things are more likely to be read, appreciated and retweeted&mdash;which builds your credibility and following.</p>
<p><strong>Talk to Your Followers</strong></p>
<p>It&rsquo;s OK to drum up personal conversations with followers that you have an interest in. Say hi. Ask about the kids. Form friendships. After all, Twitter is about making personal connections. Those connections are the most valuable piece of the Twitter puzzle. Stay connected and watch your relevant follower base&mdash;and marketing efforts&mdash;grow!</p>
<br /><div id="custom_wisebread_footer"><div id="rss_tagline">This article is from <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/justine-grey">Justine Grey</a> of <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/are-your-tweets-being-heard">Wise Bread</a>, an award-winning personal finance and <a href="http://www.wisebread.com/credit-cards">credit card comparison</a> website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:</div><div class="view view-similarterms view-id-similarterms view-display-id-block_2 view-dom-id-7">
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</div> </div><br/></br>Small Business Resource Centersmall businesssocial mediasocial media marketingtwittertwitter avatartwitter userWed, 02 Nov 2011 18:28:56 +0000Justine Grey764354 at http://www.wisebread.com